'Babies-for-sale' scheme shocks Armenia

YEREVAN, Armenia – Syuzan Patvakanyan has been searching for her daughter ever since doctors in post-Soviet Armenia forced her to give her up as a baby nearly 2 decades ago. 

Now 35, she shared her story with AFP as the authorities this month detained the country's chief obstetrician-gynecologist, the head of an orphanage and other officials as part of a probe into an alleged black-market adoption scheme believed to have been operating for years.

Patvakanyan accused the detained chief gynecologist, Razmik Abramyan, and other doctors of pressuring her to give up her daughter Stella.

She was just 16 when she "fell madly in love" with a man 5 years her senior, she said.

After Stella's birth, Armenian doctors threatened to report the father to police and coerced Patvakanyan into signing a consent form to hand over the baby.

"I cried, I didn't want to do it," she said in an interview, tears streaming down her face. 

When she returned to the maternity ward three days later to take her home, Stella was no longer there. 

The doctors claimed she had been sent to an orphanage in the country's second largest city of Gyumri. But the teenage mum could not locate her there either.

"We realized that the swaddled baby had been sold right out of the hospital," said the distraught woman.

Patvakanyan appears to be one of dozens of women caught up in an underground baby-selling network that is now the subject of an official investigation in the impoverished ex-Soviet country. 

In December, investigators said they had detained Abramyan, as well as the heads of a maternity ward and an orphanage in the capital Yerevan. 

The chief gynecologist was released several days later, sparking public outrage.

According to his lawyer, Abramyan dismisses the claims as "unfounded and absurd" and insists he had nothing to do with the adoptions.

The lawyer, Samvel Dilbandyan, confirmed Abramyan had helped to deliver Stella, but could not be expected to remember every birth he was involved in.

"It's been 20 years, how can he remember her?" Dilbandyan told AFP.

'MORE POWERFUL THAN DRUGS MAFIA'

Armenia's pro-reform leader Nikol Pashinyan has ordered a thorough investigation into the alleged scheme, which he said is believed to have been operating "for many years."

"How could such a scheme exist in Armenia?" Pashinyan indignantly asked at a government meeting this month.

Marat Kostanyan, a lawyer who has represented Patvakanyan since 2013, claims the network was vast and involved high-ranking officials and police, as well as staff at maternity wards and orphanages. 

"The mafia selling children is more powerful than the drugs mafia," Kostanyan said. 

"This criminal network has turned the country into a hatchery to produce babies."

Despite all his efforts, there has been little progress in Patvakanyan's case, the lawyer said. 

"As far as I know, no one has managed to achieve justice and get their babies back," he said.

Separately, Armenia's security service said in November it had exposed a criminal network that helped Italians adopt more than 30 babies in recent years.

It said that between 2016 and 2018 several young women who had wanted to terminate their pregnancies were instead forced to carry the babies to term and then give them up for adoption. 

"In some cases, the frightened mothers were told their newborn babies were sick," the security service said.

Deputy labor minister Zhanna Andreasyan said officials had started looking more closely into adoptions after noticing that four times as many children went to foreigners rather than to locals.

All adoptions have since been suspended while the investigation is ongoing.

Armenia, a South Caucasus country of fewer than 3 million people, has also pledged to abolish orphanages by 2023, instead reuniting children with their biological parents or finding new homes for them.

In a 2017 report, Human Rights Watch said that thousands of Armenian children were "needlessly" separated from their parents due to disability or poverty and placed in institutions.

More than 90 percent of children in residential institutions in the country have at least one living parent, it said.

According to Armenia's labor ministry, fewer than 650 children currently live in orphanages. More than 70 percent of these have disabilities, according to UNICEF.

'I WILL NEVER STOP'

Patvakanyan said she still hopes to find her daughter.

"I love my Stella very much, I miss her very much, I see her in my dreams. She comes to me and says: 'Mum, I live nearby, don't cry so hard'."

She said she would not marry or have another child until she gets her daughter back.

She has bought a small plot of land where she wants to grow a garden for her long-lost child. She buys her gifts. She intently studies the faces of strangers.

"I'll never stop searching for her," she said, weeping. "I will look for her even when my hair turns white."

source: news.abs-cbn.com

America's baby mayor, a face of the anti-abortion movement

WHITEHALL, United States – "The mayor's breakfast is ready," Chad McMillan sings out from the living room of his Texas ranch.

On the menu this morning: a warm bottle of milk and a jar of puree.

Charlie McMillan is no ordinary city official -- he's only seven months old and a new face of the anti-abortion movement in America.

The chubby baby became honorary mayor of his Texas community in October with a sweet slogan: "Make America Kind Again." 

A twist on US President Donald Trump's catchphrase of making the country great again, Charlie's "agenda" includes patriotism, adoption and "life" -- referring to the issue of abortion that tends to polarize Americans.

The infant mayor's emergence comes amid mounting anxiety among abortion rights advocates who fear the 46-year-old Roe v Wade Supreme Court decision that effectively legalized abortion is under threat.

"One of his campaign platforms focuses on the brave and courageous choice that... his birth mother made for life," said Charlie's adoptive mother Nancy Jane McMillan. 

"She was in the midst of a crisis pregnancy and chose not to terminate the pregnancy but to carry him, and we were the incredibly blessed recipients of that brave and courageous choice."

Charlie's parents bought the honorary mayor title at an auction in October as part of a fundraiser for firefighters in their community of Whitehall, about an hour northwest of Houston.

The appointment, which does not involve any actual duties, was "just something fun that we were doing," McMillan said.

But then the 43-year-old real estate agent realized the influence that "Mayor Charlie" had on the people of Whitehall.

"Just a little bit of kindness goes such a long way, and in this time of political and cultural divisiveness in the United States, it's neat to see how a baby, a seven-month-old, with a campaign promise to make America kind again, can, we believe, impact change."

Charlie's parents are on the development board of the Houston Pregnancy Help Center, a Christian organization that steers women with unplanned pregnancies away from abortion.

NOT A DEMOCRAT, NOT A REPUBLICAN

The inauguration of the country's littlest mayor took place on December 15, with a big party featuring hot dogs, country music and a ceremony for the tuxedo-clad baby.

Local business owner Frank Pokluda said he gave Charlie the oath of office, "and naturally he nodded each time so he was well aware of what he was doing." 

"Look at the joy this child has brought to this community... there's people out there who'd love to have these kids so I think it's a great thing," he added.

Advocates for women's reproductive rights argue that access to abortion is vital for gender equality and the reduction of poverty and many other societal ills.

Outlawing terminations simply drives patients underground, they argue, where operations are unregulated and potentially deadly.

Chad McMillan, 51, hopes his son can provide a much-needed respite from the political battles that have divided the country.

"We hope that Charlie, who isn't a Republican, who isn't a Democrat, who isn't an independent, who loves people, can allow everybody to take a breath," said the Baptist pastor and missionary, who voted for Trump in 2016.

That could prove difficult with the Supreme Court to rule in the first half of 2020 on a Louisiana law that critics say would force the closure of most of the state's abortion clinics.

Several states this year tightened abortion access, making the procedure illegal when fetal heartbeat is detected, although courts struck down several such laws.

Trump campaigned on a pledge to appoint only opponents of abortion to the Supreme Court. He has named two of the court's nine justices, leaving the bench with a 5-4 conservative majority.

Abortion opponents are counting on the new justices to help overturn Roe v Wade, or at least allow states to restrict access to the procedure.

source: news.abs-cbn.com

Madonna granted permission to adopt twins from Malawi

Malawi's High Court on Tuesday granted Madonna permission to adopt twins from the Southern African country, a judiciary spokesman said.

The U.S. singer has previously adopted two children from Malawi, stirring anger among some Malawians who accused the government of allowing her to skirt laws that ban non-residents from adopting.

Madonna was inside the courtroom when the approval ruling was delivered, judiciary spokesman Mlenga Mvula said.Reuters could not reach representatives for Madonna for comment.

"Madonna has demostrated over the years that she has passion for Malawi and her children and therefore the court was satisfied and could not stop the adoption of the twins," Titus Mvalo, a lawyer for Madonna in Malawi, told Reuters.

Mvula said that one of the conditions of the adoption was that Madonna should provide a report showing that the home in which they lived was suitable.

He could not provide details on the children she will be adopting, saying it was against the law to divulge such particulars at this stage.

Madonna, 58, adopted Malawian children David Banda and Mercy James in 2006 and 2009. She has two other children, Lourdes and Rocco, from previous relationships.

Madonna denied reports that she wanted to adopt again after she visited Malawi last month, at the time saying her trip was for her charity work.

She established the non-profit Raising Malawi in 2006 to provide health and education programs, particularly for girls. The organization is currently building a children's unit at a hospital in Blantyre, Malawi's second-largest city, and has built 10 schools, according to its website.

source: news.abs-cbn.com

Slovenians reject same-sex marriage law in low-turnout referendum

LJUBLJANA - More than 60 percent of Slovenians voted against extending marriage to same-sex couples in a referendum Sunday marked by low turnout, according to near-complete results from the electoral commission.

The outcome marked a setback for activists who had hoped to see the largely Catholic nation become Europe's first ex-communist country to give same-sex couples the right to marry and adopt.

With more than 99 percent of ballots counted by 10 pm (2100 GMT), 63.42 percent of voters said 'no' to approving the legislation, which already passed in parliament earlier this year.

More than 1.7 million people were registered to vote on an issue that has stoked heated debate in the former Yugoslav republic, but turnout was low at just 35.65 percent.

For the outcome to be legally valid, opponents of the law needed to muster the support of at least 20 percent of registered voters -- the equivalent of at least 342,000 votes. They ended up garnering 389,115, the commission said.

In March, parliament approved legislation redefining marriage as a "union of two" instead of a "union of a man and a woman", granting same-sex couples the same rights as their opposite-sex counterparts, including the right to adopt children.

But opponents immediately launched a campaign to reverse the changes, meaning the legislation never came into force and no same-sex couples were able to tie the knot.

A group called "Children Are At Stake" managed to gather the 40,000 signatures necessary to force a referendum.

Even Pope Francis waded in, urging Slovenians to defend traditional family values.

He said last week he encouraged "everyone, especially those with public responsibility, to support the family, a structural reference point for the life of society".

Same-sex marriage has already been legalised in 18 countries, including 13 in Europe. Ireland last May became the first to approve gay marriage through a referendum.

"I voted yes. Love is love, regardless of everything," said a 24-year-old woman called Ida in the southwestern port city of Koper.

- 'Marriage yes, adoption no' -

The issue had proved divisive among Slovenians, especially concerning adoption.

On the wall of a church centre near one polling station, someone had scrawled: "Would you take a homosexual donor's blood to save your child?"

Another pensioner said while gay couples should be given equality as far as marriage was concerned, that should not include the right to adopt children.

"They are people like us, they should be given all rights, but not (the right to adopt) children," said 76-year-old Ema.

"It has to end with a 'no'," she said.

Slovenian voters already rejected gay marriage once before, in a 2012 plebiscite.

Sunday's renewed rejection means the civil code will revert to limiting marriage to strictly between male and female couples, and parliament may not propose any new measures seeking to introduce same-sex marriages for the next 12 months.

Existing legislation which allows registered civil partnerships but not adoption will remain in force.

Slovenia has long been ahead of its peers, joining the EU in 2004 -- nine years before neighbouring Croatia -- and the eurozone in 2007 as its first ex-communist member, but its society retains a strong traditionalist streak.

Both Slovenia's president and prime minister had backed the 'yes' camp in the referendum.

Violeta Tomic, a lawmaker from the leftist United Left party that had first proposed the same-sex law, vowed to keep up the fight despite Sunday's setback.

"We'll go on, we won't give up... Human rights were not a gift, they had to be fought for."

source: www.abs-cbnnews.com

US Supreme Court allows couple to reclaim adopted child

NEW YORK - In a child custody case that one justice called heartbreaking, the U.S. Supreme Court said on Tuesday an American Indian girl now being raised by her biological father should not have been taken from a couple who had cared for her since just after birth under a law aimed at keeping Native American families together.

In a 5-4 ruling that prompted stirring dissents, the court said South Carolina's highest court misinterpreted the law last July in letting the girl, who is now 3-1/2 years old, remain in the custody of Dusten Brown, a member of the Cherokee Nation.

The girl, named Veronica, had earlier been in the care of Matt and Melanie Capobianco, a white couple from Charleston, South Carolina, after Brown renounced his parental rights by text message without taking custody and the birth mother gave her up for adoption.

But a family court ordered the girl be given to Brown under the Indian Child Welfare Act of 1978 after he changed his mind. That law was intended to curb abusive practices that caused many Native American children to be removed from their families.

Brown took custody in December 2011, when the girl was 27 months old, and moved to Oklahoma. Last July, South Carolina's highest court upheld the family court order regarding the girl, who according to court papers is 1.2 percent Cherokee.

Writing for the Supreme Court majority, Justice Samuel Alito said the South Carolina court erred in finding that the law protected Brown from losing his parental rights, or gave him a preference in caring for the girl.

"Under the State Supreme Court's reading," Alito wrote, "a biological Indian father could abandon his child in utero and refuse any support for the birth mother ... and then could play his ICWA trump card at the eleventh hour to override the mother's decision and the child's best interests."

Allowing such an outcome automatically would "unnecessarily place vulnerable Indian children at a unique disadvantage in finding a permanent and loving home," Alito added.

Matt Capobianco has worked as a Boeing technician. Melanie Capobianco has a doctorate in developmental psychology. They are known in court papers as Adoptive Couple, and the girl as Baby Girl.

ADOPTION EFFORT TO PROCEED

"We're thrilled," Mark Fiddler, a lawyer for the couple, said in an interview. "Adoption professionals have been perplexed for years over how the ICWA applies to voluntary adoption proceedings where the unwed father is Indian and the mother is not. The decision today clears up that confusion. It means my clients may proceed with efforts to adopt Veronica."

Charles Rothfeld, a lawyer for Brown, said the decision was "disappointing" but narrow. He said Veronica still lives with her biological father and stepmother, and is "thriving and happy. We are confident that ultimately the father will retain custody."

Cherokee Nation Principal Chief Bill John Baker also expressed disappointment, saying at a news conference: "Veronica Brown's best interests are served by her continuing to live in a loving home with her biological father."

The Capobiancos said in a statement they hope the decision will prevent "the tragic disruption of other adoptions."

Veronica was conceived while Brown had been engaged to the birth mother, who is of predominantly Hispanic background.

After renouncing his parental rights, Brown changed his mind after learning that his former fiancée had put the girl up for adoption and that the girl was under the Capobiancos' care.

"It's a pretty devastating opinion," said Dorothy Alther, executive director for California Indian Legal Services, which submitted a brief on Brown's behalf. "(It) impacts not only biological parents but also tribes, because it means they would have no right to intervene."

Alito was joined in his majority opinion by Chief Justice John Roberts, who has two adopted children, and Justices Anthony Kennedy, Clarence Thomas and Stephen Breyer.

Justice Antonin Scalia, who has nine children, dissented, saying the majority "needlessly demeans the rights of parenthood. (P)arents have their rights, no less than children do."

Justice Sonia Sotomayor also dissented, joined by Justices Ruth Bader Ginsburg and Elena Kagan and mostly by Scalia, saying the majority ignored Congress's intent "to rectify a perceived wrong that, while heartbreaking at the time," cannot be undone.

"However difficult it must have been for (Baby Girl) to leave Adoptive Couple's home when she was just over 2 years old, it will be equally devastating now if, at the age of 3 1/2, she is again removed from her home and sent to live halfway across the country," she wrote. "Such a fate is not foreordained, of course. But it can be said with certainty that the anguish this case has caused will only be compounded by today's decision."

The case is Adoptive Couple v. Baby Girl et al, U.S. Supreme Court, No. 12-399. (Reporting by Jonathan Stempel in New York; Additional reporting by Harriet McLeod in Charleston, South Carolina; Editing by Howard Goller and Will Dunham)

source: www.abs-cbnnews.com